[Kyle Matthews]

Remember Buzzer? Or any of the MooCow apps like Band? How bout THTouch? Garf? Dactyl? iBlackjack?

All of these were once in Installer (heck, remember Installer?!?) as jailbreak apps - pre-AppStore. Those were just some of the apps ModMyi hosted, and there's tons more that were on Installer on other sources - TapTap Revolution, NeverPutt, Lights Off, Twinkle, iBeer, WeDict, Trism, Sketches, DropCopy, iComic, Tunewiki, Labyrinth, Lexitron, Crosswalk, iWoman, MPG, CalcPaper, ShopList, Domino, ToDo, iSlots, and PocketMoney for example. When the AppStore went live, many devs were able to use their extensive testing in the jailbreak community to release great AppStore apps. (Here's iTunes links for the ones I named in first paragraph: Buzzer | Band | THTouch | Garf | Dactyl | iBlackjack (now Blackjack 21) ).

The AppStore started as a brilliant new market for devs to gather success in, and guaranteed instant ROI for early entrants. Now, however, with the number of apps pushing past 60,000, the AppStore is fast becoming a cluttered file cabinet in which nothing can be found. $0.99 apps reign supreme on every top chart, forcing large companies to rethink decisions on million dollar budgets for flippin sweet games they could have sold at $9.99 (as they did early on) in favor of cheaper apps they can churn out monthly and sell at a buck or three. Sure, "there's an app for that," definitely rings true with 60k apps... but where's the innovation going to be if you drive all devs into $0.99 RefuseLand?

Apple obviously banked on success with this model of profit (sell a sweet phone, make money off the software), but I'm pretty sure they didn't have a clue HOW successful it would be. The payment system and reporting areas for AppStore devs are anything BUT Apple-esque. They're confusing, strangely organized, and payments often come in late and unlabeled. Amounts are regularly off (assuming from the various tax laws) but with no clear explanation anywhere. Apps are approved in a day or in 90, with no standard and no reason. Dev's receive rejection letters citing outlandish reasoning, while other apps whose sole objection is to shake a baby to its death are approved (albeit quickly pulled when the media gets wind of it). Fart apps are told they can't be in the AppStore, then weeks later reach the top 10. It seems Apple needs to hire some more folks to keep up and revitalize.

Meanwhile, the Cydia Store is becoming a more and more viable option for individual developers. With nearly a quarter million dollars in revenue already, developers are starting to pay more attention to Cydia as a sustainable source of income. While $250,000 in revenue over a few months is paltry compared to the AppStore's glory, it's impressive none-the-less - Cydia has less than 40 paid packages currently. It's got a user base of millions, and with a much smaller number of packages, sales are doing great for devs. I've got emails in my inbox from more than one AppStore dev thinking about pulling their app from Apple and vending in Cydia instead. And we're not the only one - other Cydia repo owners are already hosting lite versions of AppStore apps as advertisement, and incoming AppStore apps removed from Apple are the next logical step for many devs.

Of course, this is not to say the AppStore isn't a solid way to generate income - it definitely is. The point being, until recently, it was the ONLY option, and is congested and feeling some growing pains. It's very interesting to see emails coming in from devs thinking about backing OUT of the AppStore into Cydia.

Welcome.



Finally, why not give something away? Buzzer, one of those Cydia to AppStore apps, just hit the AppStore recently, and we've got 5 promo codes to give out. Only works in the US AppStore, so be aware of that. All you've gotta do to win one is reply to this thread with your thoughts on the story (if you've got one sentence to say, I'm not even gonna count it), and we'll choose 5 random winners Thursday morning (EST).

[sayam]

I do want it and I am not here to say I am first...

[chaingang54]

Nice, This app was from 1.1.2 jailbreak...this was one of the only good games that were out in Installer(when it was good) It's pretty cool how they make these apps for jailbroken iPod touches and iPhones and then move them over to the AppStore, I'm surprised Apple lets them. This will probably be on the Top Paid Apps the first month, maybe even the first week!

Woops spelled Installer wrong, I spelled it like that other blocked word.

[exNavy]

Glad to see Cydia flourishing. Man oh man did rip dev lose out on getting Installer up to snuff fast enough.

[JonnyBoy333]

Honestly if I was thinking about developing for the iPhone or iPod Touch I would most likely go for the cydia store as the AppStore is becoming way overcrowded and the amount of cydia users is ever increasing. I'm wondering though, what's stoping devs from posting their app on both stores? Does Apple look at cydia products and then kick them out of the AppStore? Anyway I'm very impressed with cydia and use many jailbroken only apps everyday.

[StealthBravo]

I am glad to see the Cydia Store is taking off

[chaingang54]

Originally Posted by JonnyBoy333

Honestly if I was thinking about developing for the iPhone or iPod Touch I would most likely go for the cydia store as the AppStore is becoming way overcrowded and the amount of cydia users is ever increasing. I'm wondering though, what's stoping devs from posting their app on both stores? Does Apple look at cydia products and then kick them out of the AppStore? Anyway I'm very impressed with cydia and use many jailbroken only apps everyday.

Tha's what I was thinking, can't they put it in the AppStore and Cydia Store for the same price?

[StealthBravo]

Yes, Apple would kick them out if they were releasing it on Cydia.

[blkcadi]

Awesome. The impact that the jailbreak community has made and continues make blows my mind. This scores pretty high on my holyshitometer.You know what they say, competition breeds..............................

[daching]

So developers can test their apps in Cydia before submitting it to the AppStore? Wouldn't Apple know about that?

[cmwade77]

I like the thought that Cydia could become more popular than the App Store. It actually makes a lot of sense that it would be, as it's easier to get into it and the costs are about the same.

[Zeal]

Originally Posted by cmwade77

I like the thought that Cydia could become more popular than the App Store. It actually makes a lot of sense that it would be, as it's easier to get into it and the costs are about the same.

Dont think this would ever happen...

Not everyone wants to go though all the trouble of Jailbreak even though it takes a total of 2minutes.

[timbo]

See Apple... we are not all out to get free software. We know how to run a biz aswell

[KelvinalF]

I personally think Apple needs to hire someone to throw out junk from the app store. It would make guiding through it much easier and I don't think anyone would miss the least 400 popular flashlight apps.

[viperstarpoint9]

The appstore seems to me to to a big mess. Its hard to navigate, apps appear then disappear (rarely reappearing). Almost all games are low quality simple games, I actuality prefer a nice balance of advanced games like Need For Speed or Monopoly. As for other games wtf is up with 30 respect pints there are more of these pos game out the on the app store than any other kind of game or app. whats happening to the appstore is that it was launched in a time when the economy was regressing and people were (and still are) wanting cheep entertainment on their device they just shelled out $200+ for. So now developers have to compete for what little income comes into the appstore so they lower their prices. In the end I end up ignoring most appstore apps and hunt for what actualy sparks my interest.